Apparatus for coating moving filamentary strands

ABSTRACT

Apparatus for coating continuous moving filamentary strands with a binder material that has a walled binder material supply chamber and a walled sump chamber, said chambers having a nonrotatable applicator shoe with an exteriorly exposed surface and interposed in spaced relationship between the chamber walls. Binder material under low pressure flows in a sheet-like film from the supply chamber to the sump chamber by wall attachment over the exposed surface of the applicator shoe. The filamentary strands in contact with and moving through the sheet-like binder material are thereby continuously coated with the binder material.

APPARATUS FOR COATING MOVING FILAMENTARY STRANDS BACKGROUND OF THEINVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to apparatusfor coating continuous moving filamentary strands with a binder materialand more particularly to such apparatus for coating manmade fiberstrands such as fiberglass.

2. Description of the Prior Art In the manufacture of man-madecontinuous fibers, various types of applicator apparatus have been usedto apply sizing or binder material to the strands. Roll and beltapplicator apparatus are two types most commonly used heretofore. Infiberglass making particularly, both types of applicator apparatus havethe disadvantage of occasionally drawing broken filaments and similarforeign particles in the applicator apparatus where the particles andfilaments contaminate the binder material and, as a consequence,frequently cause interruption of the coating process. Part of theproblem with the prior applicator apparatus is that they have movingparts which tend to become fouled with an accumulation of broken strandsor other foreign particles.

The desirability of providing a trouble-free applicator apparatus hasbeen well-recognized for years. The less contamination and the lesschance of clogging or fouling the applicator appratus the moreeconomical the filamentary strand coating operation is because there isless need to shut down the operation to correct the difficulty.

By my invention, there is provided an improved applicator apparatus thathas no moving parts and is constructed such that broken filamentarystrands or other particles are unlikely to contaminate the bindermaterial. Consequently, the use of my applicator apparatus minimizesinterruptions in the filamentary strand coating operation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with this invention, there isprovided apparatus for coating continuous moving filamentary strandswith a binder material that includes a walled binder material supplychamber and an underlying walled sump chamber. Interposed between andspaced from the walls of both the supply chamber and sump chamber is anon-rotatably adjustably movable applicator shoe having an exteriorlyexposed surface. When binder material in the supply chamber is placedunder low pressure the material will flow through the space bween thewall of the supply chamber and the applicator shoe onto the exposedsurface of the applicator shoe. By wall attachment the binder materialflows around the exposed surface of the applicator shoe through thespace between the applicator shoe and sump chamber and into theunderlying sump chamber. By directing filamentary strands across and incontact with the binder material flowing over the applicator shoe thestrands are coated with the binder material.

It is the object of this invention to provide an improved bindermaterial applicator apparatus.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a binder materialapplicator apparatus that has no moving parts.

It is also another object of this invention to provide a binder materialapplicator apparatus that has no moving parts and is constructed suchthat broken filament strands and other foreign particles are unlikely tocontaminate the binder material.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of myapplicator apparatus with a broken-away portion showing the interior ofthe supply chamber and sump chamber.

FIG. 2 is an end elevation view in partial section showing my applicatorapparatus.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawing,there is illustrated an applicator apparatus generally shown at 10 andincluding a housing 11; The housing 11 is illustrated as a cylindricalhousing made from metal or other suitable material and dividedhorizontally into two separate chambers. The upper chamber is a supplychamber 12 and the lower chamber is a sump chamber 13, which chambersare separated by a common dividing partition 14. The rear of thedividing partition 14 is secured to the inside of housing 11 by anysuitable means, such as an elastomeric compound 17, so that it acts as ahinge to permit some movement of the partition 14 yet provide a fluidseal between the supply chamber 12 and sump chamber 13. The opposite orforward portion of the dividing partition 14 is retained in its properposition by two pairs of opposing set screws 18 at each end of thepartition 14. Each set screw of each pair is adjustable against oppositesurfaces (top and bottom) of the dividing partition so that the forwardportion of the dividing partition 14 may be raised and lowered asdesired by adjusting the set screws while the rear of the dividingpartition is movably hinged to the housing 11 by the elastomericcompound 17 to allow such movement. In effect, each chamber is a walledhalf cylinder with partition 14 a common dividing member. Interposedbetween the supply chamber 12 and sump chamber 13 is applicator shoe 15that has an exteriorly exposed surface 16 that projects outwardly of theexterior surface of both the supply chamber and sump chamber. Preferablythe exterior surface is convexly curved but other shapes may be used. Asshown in the drawing the applicator shoe 15 is a cylindrical bar. Theapplicator shoe 15 may be made from any suitable guide material, such asceramic or graphite, and will be sealed to the edge of the chamberdividing partition 14 to prevent binder material from flowing betweenthe shoe l5 and partition 14 from the supply chamber 12 to the sumpchamber 13. Again, an elastomeric compound may be used for this sealingpurpose and a channel 19 in the leading edge of partition 14 may beprovided to hold the elastomeric compound in place. The applicator shoeis elongated and extends longitudinally along the entire length of thewalls of the supply and sump chamber. The applicator shoe 15 is spacedfrom the wall of the supply chamber and also from the sump chamber sothat a slit opening 20 is provided between the applicator shoe l5 andthe supply chamber wall 21 and also a slit opening 22 is providedsimilarly, but slightly wider, between the applicator shoe l5 and thesump chamber wall 23. To hold the applicator shoe 15 in its properposition and also seal the two chambers from each other side plates 5and 6 may be utilized and held in place by bolt 24 which attachessideplate 6 to the as sembly and another similar bolt on the oppositeend (not shown) for securing sideplate 5 in place. The inner face ofeach sideplate may have a gasket (not shown) to seal the supply chamber12 from the sump chamber 13. Each sideplate has a recess 26 that isslightly larger in diameter and of the same shape as the applicator shoein lateral cross-section. These recesses are receiving the respectiveopposite ends of the applicator shoe and retaining the shoe in itsproper position relative to supply chamber wall 21 to provide thedesired slit opening 20. By this arrangement the applicator shoe 15 canbe easily and quickly replaced, if necessary, by simply taking off oneor both of the sideplates for access to the applicator shoe 15.Moreover, the applicator shoe 15 may be movably adjustable to vary thespace between the applicator shoe and the wall of the supply chamber(slit opening 20) by loosening bolts 24 and rotating sideplates 5 and 6that carry applicator shoe 15.

The above-described applicator apparatus is secured to a base 25, as bywelding, with the base 25 having a vertical slot 34. Movably adjustablein that slot is a gathering shoe 35, which is in the shape of a spool.The gathering shoe 35 may be moved vertically within the slot dimensionsand secured in the desired position by tightening nut 36.

Leading from sump chamber 13 is a pipe or conduit 30, threadly securedto the sump chamber portion of housing 11 through which binder materialmay flow for recirculation to a pump (not shown). The binder materialfr'om the pump is introduced back into the supply chamber under lowpressure through conduit 41 threadly secured to the supply chamberportion of housing 11.

Filamentary strands 40, being fed from a source, such as a bushing orspinerette, are moved at rather high velocity vertically downward (asshown by arrows) past the applicator apparatus and contact the bindermaterial flowing over the exteriorly exposed convexly curved surface ofthe applicator shoe and are coated thereby with binder material. Thecoated threads are then fed into gathering shoe 35 and subsequentlycollected on a winder (not shown).

Binder material, normally a viscous fluid consisting of an emulsion ofvarious types of starch and fat combined with other ingredients toproduce characteristics and properties desired by the manufacturer,flows into the supply chamber 12 by inlet conduit 41 from the pump. Thesupply chamber is normally filled with the binder material, however, adam 42 perpendicular to the partition 14 may be utilized to assure evendistribution of the binder material along the length of the supplychamber.

The above-described applicator apparatus operates as follows: The bindermaterial 43 is being supplied by a pump under low pressure, in the orderof l to 10 psi, to the supply chamber 12 so that the supply chamber isconstantly full. The binder material then emerges through the narrowslit opening between the applicator shoe 15 and the supply chamber wall21 to the outside of the supply chamber where it flows by wallattachment in a thin sheet-like film around the exteriorly exposedconvexly curved surface of the applicator shoe, and finally the bindermaterial flows through the slit 22 between the applicator shoe l5 andthe wall 23 of the sump chamber and into the sump chamber. In the sumpchamber the binder material is collected and flows down through conduit30 and back to the pressure source which again pumps the binder materialback into the supply chamber 12 via conduit 41. The flow path of thebinder material 43 is shown by arrows in FIG. 2.

To guide the binder material around the applicator shoe the well-knownwall attachment effect is utilized. As a jet of fluid or sheet-like filmemerges from a supply chamber under low pressure the energy latent inthe pressurized fluid is translated into velocity. Since the emergingsheet-like film touches a solid surface on only one boundry, theapplicator shoe exposed surface, this side of the sheet-like film issubject to considerable viscous drag, thus causing the sheet-like filmto assume a curved path leading around the applicator shoe exposedsurface until most of the energy is consumed then the fluid will leavethe surface of the applicator shoe under the influence of gravity. insome instances a curve up to degrees has been observed.

In operating the applicator apparatus described above the filamentarystrands 40 are moved at high velocity vertically downward in contactwith the sheetlike film of binder material flowing over the exteriorlyexposed surface of the applicator shoe. The individual filamentarystrands are coated with the binder material and subsequently joinedtogether by the gathering shoe 35.

It will be noted from the construction of my applicator apparatus thatthere are no moving parts that can become fouled by broken strands orother foreign particles and that such broken strands or particles areunlikely to be drawn into the supply chamber to contaminate the bindermaterial.

The foregoing is a description of the preferred embodiment of theinvention, and variations may be made to the applicator apparatuswithout departing from the spirit of the invention, as defined in theappended claims.

I claim;

1. Applicator apparatus for coating movable filamentary strands with abinder material comprising an enclosed applicator head including atubular housing member having an axially extending peripheral slottherein,

a generally transversely positioned, axially extending partition memberinteriorly dividing the housing into a walled supply chamber and awalled sump chamber and having a convexly curved applicator surface atone end thereof extending through and externally of said slot in saidhousing member,

said housing and said partition member providing a flow path for bindermaterial introduced into said supply chamber and flowing by wallattachment around the curved applicator surface to the sump chamberthrough an axially extending exit slit formed between one side of thepartition member and one edge of said housing slot and into an axiallyextending entrance slit formed between the other side of the partitionmember and the other edge of said housing slot into said sump chamber,

and adjusting means accessible exteriorly of said housing for movablyadjusting the position of said partition member interiorly of thehousing to simultaneously vary in a controlled manner the width of saidexit slit and said entrance slit. 2. Applicator apparatus in accordancewith claim 1 wherein said adjusting means affects the width of said exitslit inversely to the width of said entrance slit.

binder material along the length of the said supply chamber.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the width of the entrance slit tothe sump chamber is wider than the exit slit from the supply chamber.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein there is means to recirculate thebinder material from the sump chamber back to the supply chamber underlow pressure.

1. Applicator apparatus for coating movable filamentary strands with abinder material comprising an enclosed applicator head including atubular housing member having an axially extending peripheral slottherein, a generally transversely positioned, axially extendingpartition member interiorly dividing the housing into a walled supplychamber and a walled sump chamber and having a convexly curvedapplicator surface at one end thereof extending through and externallyof said slot in said housing member, said housing and said partitionmember providing a flow path for binder material introduced into saidsupply chamber and flowing by wall attachment around the curvedapplicator surface to the sump chamber through an axially extending exitslit formed between one side of the partition member and one edge ofsaid housing slot and into an axially extending entrance slit formedbetween the other side of the partition member and the other edge ofsaid housing slot into said sump chamber, and adjusting means accessibleexteriorly of said housing for movably adjusting the position of saidpartition member interiorly of the housing to simultaneously vary in acontrolled manner the width of said exit slit and said entrance slit. 2.Applicator apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said adjustingmeans affects the width of said exit slit inversely to the width of saidentrance slit.
 3. Applicator apparatus in accordance with claim 1wherein said adjusting means includes a pair of adjusting screwsaccessible exteriourly of and received in said housing and bearing onopposite sides of said partition member adjacent the curved applicatorend thereof.
 4. Applicator apparatus in accordance with claim 1 whereinsaid applicator head includes an axially extending baffle dam on oneside of said partition member within said housing for uniformdistribution of the binder material along the length of the said supplychamber.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the width of the entranceslit to the sump chamber is wider than the exit slit from the supplychamber.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein there is means torecirculate the binder material from the sump chamber back to the supplychamber under low pressure.